Max Jacoby

This is the bet: Major studio films (30M+) released in the first half of 2011. Most of the 3D films currently shooting digitally won't be ready for that timeframe. Films like Tron that are released this month don't count either. I find it hilarious that Tom seems to be completely unaware of the irony of his post. To a billionaire betting for 100K is about as much as 50$ is to a person with a normal income. And for somone who fancies himself a modern day Nostradamus like Tom, betting only 50$ is definitely NOT putting your money where your mouth is. But then again he always struck me as the kind of guy who, when he has to stop at a red light, turns to his passengers and says: 'Don't worry, it will be green soon'. And when the light does turn green, he goes: 'I told you so!'

The trailer for my feature DUST is now online: http://vimeo.com/6005964 It'll get released in Luxembourg at the end of the year. Releases in other countries will hopefully follow in 2010.

Stop trying to pick fights with me Joe. I clearly stated that I was talking about films in general, not Slumdog Millionaire in particular.

Stop being such a (childish name calling removed by admin) Joe. The format has nothing to do with it, so do us a favor and and keep your silly comments to yourself.

Well I did not agree personally, I just said that I have friends who share Tim's opinion. Gosh, now I really have to go see that film to see what all the fuss is about. ;)

I was not referring to Slumdog Millionaire (which I don't have an opinion on, because I haven't seen it yet) but to films in general.

That's unfortunately just wishful thinking by a bunch of amateurs. Panavision designed these lenses and Leica made the glass to their specifications. As we all know, the look of a lens is determined by the design (both optical and mechanical), not the place that makes the different glass elements. Hence why the Academy gave an Oscar to the Panavsion designers.

The best lens in the world is useless if you don't have proper focus scales. That's one of the reasons the Primos are so popular. When they got released in the late 80s, their focus scale was much wider and more precise than that of Zeiss Superspeeds, Standards and Cooke S2/S3s. It took Zeiss and Cooke almost a decade to make lenses that were in that category.

I don't think that Tim was suggesting that Danny Boyle exploited Indians. Well at least not in a direct manner of course, but rather in the sense that he uses their plight to make one of these manipulative films about a 'worthy' and/or 'important' subject that people like to watch because it makes them feel better about themselves. Which is the exact same feedback that I've heard from other people too. We've had some conversations about these kind of films, those that win awards not based on their artistic merits, but because of the subject matter. It's my belief that many people have trouble separating the subject matter from the film itself. Just because a film is about a 'worthy' subject does not make it a 'worthy' film. It's kinda like the family dog that gets killed after twenty minutes. More often than not that's a cheap manipulation that's incredibly effective to get an emotional reaction. My main criterion to judge art is honesty, and these kinds of films are anything but.

Adaptation of a fiction or non-fiction novel?

So if you have a faster 20mm lens, why would you want another one that's slower at F4.5? Unless the F4.5 lens can do things a regular 20mm couldn't do, like macro or so. And with such an atrociously slow stop, it better be pretty amazing in that other area, otherwise there is absolutely no point in you starting a thread about a new lens whose availability you consider a 'curse'. No one is forcing you to buy it.

I remember one shot on my film where we were on a 75mm Hawk, the actress was watering plants and slowly working her way into a close-up. I was standing next to the focus puller and could see how he was adjusting for every single time she leaned backwards and forwards. That really was a work of inches. There's no way an operator could have done this.

That's what I've been hearing from friends as well.

I had a look at the new Zeiss 8mm lens (for 16mm) the other day and what really struck me that once you went down into the minimum focus region you had a marking for every single centimeter! And that's on a wide-angle lens. Really, all these people who think they can use stills lenses for narrative filmmaking are in for a surprise.

Ever heard of day interiors? Or night scenes? Good luck trying to shoot those at F4.5.